Nine Tailed

Realm of Four Kingdoms #1

by Jayci Lee

An enemy on her tails, an innocent at her side, and a dangerous power within her that could destroy them all. Jayci Lee melds Korean folklore with modern Americana in this fiery new series.

Sunny Cho aspires to be the dullest, least interesting person in any given room, which can be challenging for a nine-tailed fox spirit. So she drifts from city to city—staying clear of any and all attachment—and keeps her fox buried deep inside her. It is better this way. She would rather live as half of herself than risk losing control of her terrible powers.

Ethan Lee, a friend she left behind eight years ago, is a brilliant and distractingly hot PI. When he tracks her down and asks her to help him find his brother’s murderer, Sunny knows her uneventful life is about to be turned upside down.

Traversing the mortal realm and the world of gods, Sunny and Ethan discover their quest is much more dire than mere vengeance, and their friendship might be…more. An ancient evil is stirring, and Sunny is faced with an impossible save the worlds from annihilation or claim the love fated by the heavens.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2024

About the author

Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance featuring Korean American main characters. Her books have been in O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, E! News, and Women’s World. Jayci is retired from her fifteen-year career as a litigator because of all the badass heroines and drool worthy heroes demanding to have their stories told. Food, wine and travel are her jam. She makes her home in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys, and a fluffy rescue.

Reviews

[Donny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can only describe this book as clumsy? Could benefit from a good editor maybe. From the get go the authors writing style was juvenile.
If you like real books, this isn't for you. This is a book with a pretty cover, for those on booktok to add to their shelves among their Hello Kitty collection.

[Aisvarya (Semi-hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Let me love you for a thousand years and prove you wrong.✨

As someone who's obsessed with Korean historical dramas & mythology, this hit all the right notes for me, and I ended up flying through the second half cuz I couldn't put it down & now immediately want to read the sequel!!!

What can you expect
🌙Urban fantasy rooted in Korean folklore & mythology
🌙Fast paced with a romantic subplot
🌙Snarky & sassy FMC (Gumiho)
🌙Charming & protective MMC
🌙Fight between ancient powers (light vs dark)
🌙Mythical beings (Goblins, nine tailed fox, dragons,...)
🌙Murder mystery
🌙Side quests to find magical objects
🌙Betrayal & heartbreak

Nine tailed follows Sunny Cho, a 132 years old gumiho who's hiding in the human world, running away from the guardians of the Shingae, the world of gods. All she wants is a normal life but that becomes impossible when Ethan, the younger brother of her best friend from 8 years ago seeks her help in finding his elder brother's killer. Is it a death that happened because of natural cases or something magical was at play?! You have to read to find out.

✨Worldbuilding & magic system

The worldbuilding is quite interesting but also easy to grasp & get lost in. The World of Gods, Shingae seems to have beings divided into four groups based on the life force (qi) that runs inside them - Sky, Mountain, Water & Underworld. And the beings seem to have powers that are suited to their life forces.

Also, all magical beings can communicate telepathically when they're in their true form, which was so cool to witness😍 And as is the case with a lot of fantasy, we also have the ultimate dark & light forces which have been at war for ages, and that there's talk that the dark force might be rising again.

Also, the magic system is qi based, like I already mentioned, and all beings of the Shingae possess this unique power to moon shift, which is similar to teleportation but could only be done when there's a reflection of moon. And I found this concept to be unique & a lot interesting as well.

✨Characters

Sunny Cho, the girl with a sharp tongue & an even sharper fighting skills, stealed my heart from the first page cuz she loves coffee just as much as me, and I couldn't hate a fellow coffeeholic🤭😌✨

Sunny is a gumiho (or) nine tailed fox who's often misunderstood as being a seductress who lures men & takes their lives. Because of this misguided notion, she lives in the human world without revealing her true self cuz she fears people might view her as a monster, but she's anything but that🥺 She's also looked down upon by other magical beings as she's an animal & not someone with inherent magic in their veins, and the way racism & prejudice existed even in this World of Gods had me wanting to go in & shake some sense into that pompous pricks in higher positions.

"Can't I choose to be better? Can't I choose to be good?"

Also something terrible happened when she was younger & she has been running away from the guardians since then, and never takes her gumiho form, and has a hard time accepting her true self. I legit shed tears when she appreciated her gumiho form, and finally accepted it as a part of her!!

"I fully appreciate the beauty and power of this body. My gumiho isn't a monster I have to keep leashed. She's a warrior - a guardian. We are glorious."

Also she never herself get attached to the people she starts to care about, and so leaves a place as soon as she starts falling for the people. And that is what happened when she started to become friends with Ethan & Ben (Ethan's older brother), so she left them 8 years ago but still cares deeply about them. That is why she cannot turn a blind eye when Ethan came to her for help.

Ethan's an amazing character too. He was not able to move away from his brother's death, and so tried hard to find Sunny, and seeks her help. And all through their journey together, he doesn't stop protecting her. Even though he learns that she can protect herself very well & that she's a gumiho, he always steps in to save her & lends her a hand when they're faced with a lot of undead obstacles & crazy mudangs (shamans). And I really liked his character growth, and also the way he changed from the midway.

"I'll always choose to be with you, Sunny. There is no other choice for me."

But no matter what happened, his love for Sunny never changed, and I so badly want their happy ending in the sequel😭

✨Romantic subplot

The romance between Sunny & Ethan felt a bit too sudden for my taste, and I feel like that's cuz we're only shown the present timeline & not the past where they were good friends for years. If we'd gotten a few glimpses of the past moments of them connecting, it wouldn't have felt as insta lovey as it did. But they definitely grew on me as the plot progressed, and the way they were both ready to lose it all for the other, instantly made me root for them, and I absolutely need a HEA🥺

✨Plot

What starts as a murder mystery gets so much larger than that, and Sunny & Ethan are left to face the consequences of what they started. And they're also left to take a side quest of going to Sunny's homeland, Korea in order to acquire some magical objects that might help them in their fight against the dark forces. And I found both the mystery & the quest plot to be equally engaging & interesting, and I was completely invested into the story from the halfway point. The ending definitely broke a part of myself that requires some time to mend itself, and if I don't get what I want in the sequel, I'm not sure I'll ever recover from the pain & heartbreak.

Overall, if you're a lover of mythology & folklore, and is someone who recently watched the movie, Kpop Demon Hunters & looking for something with similar vibes, you have to check this one out.

[Amanda Loncar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be a five star book. I really enjoyed all of the Korean Folklore, and I did care about the characters. However, I wish there had been a spice warning, because I am not a fan of spicy romance books. Explicit sex scenes are totally unnecessary, and I didn't think the sex scene included in this book did anything to further the plot and/or develop the characters.

[Zahra (Bookish_Platypus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a unique tail (see what I did there?)! Sunny is a Nine-Tailed Fox in hiding but her past comes back to haunt her and she finds herself re-entering the magical world she left behind. Did I mention there is also romance?

I'm usually not a fan of Insta-love and this did have a variation on that. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite thing. I would have preferred a gradual build rather than the FMC constantly making double entendres, oggling the MMC, and/or blushing. I understood what the author was trying to do as Sunny is meant to be sexually inexperienced but it just came on too strong for my liking.

Ethan was super sweet though and I liked a lot of his character arc. It was a bit of a bummer when they separated the main characters though and since this is single POV we never know exactly what happens to Ethan when the characters are separate. We also have to learn a lot of his growth later when he tells Sunny everything because so much happens off the page.

I'm a huge fan of an ensemble team and I enjoyed the extra cast of characters that were introduced in the book but I was disappointed that they were introduced so late in the story and they were also put on the back burner once Ethan and Sunny were reunited.

If you're a foodie, there is so much food love in this book! There's also a lot of Korean culture and Korean foods woven into the plot. I loved this addition and thought it was a lot of fun :)

Overall I wish this was paced better and wasn't so insta-love, but I liked the originality, the characters, and the representation and food in the story!

3.5⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Jayci Lee, and Montlake for the ARC.

[Jeaven · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sunny is 132 years old and Ethan is 24… they met when she was 121 and he was 13… she left him when she was 124 and he was 16… she looks like an 18 year old and he looks 24…

She watched out for this guy when he was a kid so the lusty ness of this book makes me extra uncomfy

DNF @40%

[Gabbo Parra]

I'm not going to rate this because I couldn't deal with the whole thing; and the parts that I dealt with– did it no favors. Thanks to Mr. Bezos, I got this one through my first reads of July.

Pretty cover: yeah. Intriguing premise: yup. Cute Korean protagonists: hell yeah.

The story opens with a little tale, written in a very children's book style: simple, barely detailed, just to let us know something. And it felt instantly like a red flag. Named after the titular mythical being of the story, we learn about a creature that wants to become human. For some undisclosed reason she needs to stay a certain period of time married to a man/human (because she's a female creature).

The whole thing seemed silly to me but I was like, okay, let's see where this is going.

Then we get to the actual chapter one. The previous snippet is not a prologue, but a thing the author would keep doing throughout the book interspersing this fable-like shorties to (I assume) move the plot forward. Not a fan. I didn't read all, and the few I read did not impress me.

Back to chapter one, its' written in first person with a very juvenile voice. My first thought was well, this is obviously some YA attempt, but there was an F bomb pretty early on. Because I read books written for grownups it didn't disturb me, it just felt incongruent with the POV voice. I kept going and the more I read the less I wanted to keep reading. Once again I'm like, let's at least finish the first chapter. By the end of it, hunky, hotter than every other man on Earth dude protagonists shows up to give girl protagonist a reason to be a hero. Dude even has his pretty nose broken several times to make him not be "pretty". Sigh.

I went directly to a couple of little short stories, and those gave enough information to jump straight to the last chapter. Which is such a recapitulation of basically everything that happened– I'm appreciative and concerned about it in equal measure. I have never read a book rehashing the mayor plot points in the last chapter as if it was a way to prove that you remember everything you wrote before. I don't see a reason for it. I mean, I'm glad I learned everything I needed to learn to be extremely bored anyway, but wow, just wow.

Not being a fan of first person perspective doesn't preclude me from enjoying a story sporting it. My problem starts when first person POV knows what people around them think or feel. I don't care if you're a supernatural being, you either know because that's your superpower or you don't because it's a limited perspective; you can't flip flop it. Also the author, in the two full chapters and few stories I engaged with, used the term "male" instead of man for no logical reason. I don't like when authors use female instead of woman either. If you noticed I used the expression "female creature" at the beginning of this review; it's appropriate there. Why would anyone say something like "this male is an idiot," instead of "this man's an idiot" is beyond me, but I'm going to mention it every time I see it because it's silly.

The other thing that baffled me here is the time frame of the story. Nothing it the chapters I read let me know in what year this thing was happening. Was it 1970, the 12th century, 2016? Who knows. We start in Las Vegas and we end in Las Vegas. I mean, thanks to that snitch of a last chapter we know the protagonists went to other places, but the mythical aspects of the story place it in what should be historical Korea.

For comparison, the Percy Jackson saga happens in modern day, even if ancient gods are involved. Percy is not jumping back in time to the classical Greek period to have his adventures. Percy as the chosen one wasn't born in ancient Greece and stay asleep until the 2000s. And that is the disconnection I felt in this book. Some might argue that I didn't see it because I did not read the whole book, and that's an option. I'm just telling you my impression. Especially because the short fables/stories also jumped periods, and it seemed like it was just two generations of protectors for a mythical prince that should have been born in ancient times.

Now, it is possible that the mythical realm situation is not something that happened in Antiquity but parallel with our modern world, but (and it's a big butt), the girl protagonist is supposed to be a 132 year old mythical being. The boy protagonist is technically 24 in human years (?) and the last time he saw her was eight year previous, and she was already an adult working with his brother then. That math ain't mathing because she's not a vampire (to my understanding) frozen at certain age. Hey, I'm not saying she cannot look young; we have twinks running around being 26 and looking like they are 12; that's not my point. Nothing in her behavior tells me she had lived a long life, especially a long life in hiding/moving from place to place. The juvenile prose is not the only thing telling me she has little life experience.

The "this happened and then this happened and then I saw this or felt that" style bored me to no end. All the turns of phrase that pretended to be inspired or innovative where tried cliches.

In all honesty this felt indistinguishable from the Teen Wolf fanfics I've read recently. And that's scary. Not because fanfics are a bad thing(many are spectacularly well-constructed), but because we're getting used to accept the bare minimum as a valid option for entertainment.

A first draft that no one, not even the author, took the time to give a second read and just put to press.

If you're an adult inclined to reading books written for adults, you will not like this one.

[Libbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stop 👏 marketing 👏 spicy 👏 books 👏 as 👏 YA 👏

That aside this book went out the gate rough and just went downhill from there. The fact the FMC INSTANTLY lusted after the MMC when she hasn't seen him in 8 years when he was a LITERAL CHILD and she was an adult both times was disgusting. If the genders were reversed I feel like a lot more reviews would be talking about that.

The oh so casual crossing from South to North Korea without any discussions regarding the politics/dangers or any nuance felt extremely out of place. The story would have served the same if it was set solely in south Korea or even better make it a historical fantasy set prior to the Korean war? The FMC was born in the 1800's after all.

I genuinely lost faith that the book would get any better when a character said "looks like you took the L on this one". The author isn't Gen Z, the characters aren't Gen Z. I don't need my books to have the best vocabulary but the amount of that language in this book was ridiculous.

The silver lining in all this was that I enjoyed the Korean mythology side of it as a mythology fan...

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine Tailed (Realm of the Four Kingdoms #1) by Jayci Lee

Book Blurb: An enemy on her tails, an innocent at her side, and a dangerous power within her that could destroy them all.

Rating: ****
Feels: Adventure, Excitement, Wonder, Heat
Style: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
First published August 1, 2024: 346 pages Kindle

This was such a fun read that flitted between an urban and fantasy setting with a lovely backdrop of Korean mythology. I feel like there was alot of setting up in the first half of the book and the pace really picked up in the last half of the book with soooo much being revealed and happening. I enjoyed our grumpy FMC Sunny, who is a nine tailed fox spirit being pulled into events on sooo many levels. Bring in our adorable golden retriever MMC Ethan who is just everything that is loyal and good. Not your typical set up in romantasy that I read and it totally warmed the heart. I was here for the side characters and found family aspect of this book and Sunny slowly building that family. It was such a special aspect of this book. The mythology aspect of the read had so much lore and at first it seemed like alot but it was really explained well so that I was able to follow along with things that are new to me.

Favorite Quote: I crush my lips against his so suddenly that he gasps with surprise. I had to shut him up. He can't say things like that. It makes me feel things I can't acknowledge.

This book has:
Korean mythology
Friends to Lovers
Found Family
Hidden Identity
Touch her and die
Good vrs Evil
Fated Mates
Urban Setting & Fantasy Setting

[Makaye · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was… not good. I will not be finishing this series. But at least it got me further along in my reading goal!

[Ariel]

I did not realize this was a romantasy when I picked it up. So far the romance part is annoying. Sunny constantly lusting after Ethan is distracting. It detracts from the main story. Shame because the Korean mythology is beautiful and the main plight has enough substance on its own. Even with parts being predictable. Ethan also seems to not really have a personality. There is what Sunny says he is, but as far if his actions go, he seems to just go with whatever because Sunny is. His emotions and motivation is not articulated very well. Shallow writing.

[Windy Tamplin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those could be great but needs editing. The good is the story is unique and the world is interesting but the main character is over a hundred but has the innocence of a sheltered child one moment but live in Vegas and is a cunning hunter the next. I just felt like I was getting whiplash from the antsy teen to cunning warrior mode without any real transition. The story would have a good flow then it would change on a dime. It read like a rough draft not a polished or finished story.

[sonja ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars! ⭐️

With the incorporation of Korean folklore, this book was intriguing with an original take on a romantasy book. However, while the potential was there, the execution fell flat for me.

The world-building and magic system in this book left me somewhat confused. I struggled to grasp the rules of the world, which may have been because of the first-person narrative and the unreliable, often ignorant perspective of the FMC (Sunny). While this point of view adds mystery, it also made it harder to connect with the story’s structure and stakes.

Despite being over a hundred years old, the FMC’s behavior often felt more like that of a teenager, which was so frustrating. Her unreliable perspective added layers to her character but also made it challenging to fully trust or empathise with her journey.

While the pacing felt uneven at times—particularly in the development of relationship between the FMC (Sunny) and the MMC (Ethan), this book successfully lays a solid foundation for the rest of the series. Additionally, the representation and uniqueness of this story is great.

While this book didn’t fully resonate with me, I appreciated its originality and cultural depth, and I’m curious to see how the story develops in the next book of the series.

I want to thank NetGalley, Montlake and the author for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique start to this series! My first exposure to Korean folklore and our heroine is definitely not what I expected! I’ll be on the lookout for the next part in this story 🦊

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story! I especially loved learning about the Korean folklore. I loved the setting of both modern and historic times. And I absolutely loved both Sunny and Ethan. I can't wait for more. I am definitely rooting for them. Happy reading!

[USOM · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Nine Tailed immediately swept me off my feet. Sunny stole my heart. In her desire to be human, to live her longer lifespan alone and disconnected. And yet how she has to learn over Nine Tailed about the value of letting people close. That our feelings for them doesn't make us weak, that it makes us all stronger. Together we stand divided we fall. It never works to stay unattached and when we try so hard we end up hurting people we never intended to. Nine Tailed also explores home and identity.

[Mella aka Maron]

DNF at 8%

This is a situation of the author’s writing style not vibing with me. Her metaphors are cringey: “The way his dark brown eyes dart around my face reminds me of a man gulping down water after wandering around the desert for days.” 😬 And I did not like the insta-lust: a make out session with “his tongue swirling in her mouth” at 6%. No thank you. 🙂‍↔️

I can’t go any further with this, unfortunately.

[Priscilla Oliveras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Romantasy! Lee does a fabulous job weaving Korean folklore and culture, leaving readers feeling immersed in the story world. Strong characters and conflict, swoony romance, and more. I highly recommend reading this one; and I can't wait to get my hands on book 2!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHERE IS BOOK 2

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Star

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was also a fun buddy read with Lynne (wordsofmystery).

The story's premise is told in Sunny's POV, a nine-tailed fox in hiding until she was found by Ethan, who she unexpectedly left 8 years ago for fear of getting too close to Ethan and his brother. Ethan needs Sunny’s help to locate his brother’s murderer, and this unexpectedly brings them to realize that something more is in play here, where Sunny has to embrace the past she was running and save the world from annihilation.

This reads more like a new adult compared to YA to me because of the steamy sex scenes found. I appreciate the author keeping the Korean elements of the story where the author didn’t English-fy it. My only wish is I didn’t even realized there was a glossary at the end and maybe footnotes would have been ideal here. The urban fantasy vibes mixed with Korean folklore made it a fun read and the author did a great job balancing both aspects.

This book is a solid, digestible read, as the world-building is slow to start due to Sunny having only minimal knowledge of the supernatural world and having to turn her back on her heritage many years ago. While I find her character prone to juvenile moments for a 132-year-old fox, I can understand it since she has been living as an 18 to 24-year-old and would retain that aspect of her character, having been hiding for years. I also struggled slightly with the insta-lust/love moments she and Ethan had. While I understand it eventually, I wish there was some build-up to it, especially since we did not get the historical moments of their interactions in the past. I also felt something was missing from Sunny’s character to make her a strong female character, especially with her interactions with Ethan.

The plot was intense, moving at a great pace with loads of action, assassinations, and secret discoveries. The first half of the book concentrates on Sunny and Ethan, and some longing and sweet moments are thrown in. I enjoyed the later half of the book when the cast of characters extended, touching on the found family trope where things got more interesting, which also added a nice element to make the book richer.

I am intrigued enough to look forward to book two and was told this will be a trilogy!

Thank you to Firefly Distribution for the gifted physical copy. I annotate the heck out of it.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine Tailed was a fresh take on the romantasy genre focusing on Korean folklore. I really loved this aspect of the story. I’m also a huge fan of found family, which I felt that Lee did well with the cast of characters she ended up surrounding Sunny and Ethan with; however, I wish we had more time with these other characters. They brought in a nice balance to the awkward insta love that Sunny and Ethan were struggling with. I felt like the world building in the other realms was well developed and loved being able to move throughout the world and realms. Additionally, the magic systems were unique (to me) and well explained. While I enjoyed both main characters, Sunny and Ethan, as individual characters, I struggled with them together. As someone who doesn’t love instalove/lust, there wasn’t enough relationship building for me. While they knew each other when they were younger, we missed out on that development and are going off what we’re told rather than shown/experienced between the characters. The plot itself moved along well and was interspersed with enough assassin battles and secret revelations to keep me interested. Overall, while I had some challenges with the story, I enjoyed it overall and plan to continue with the next book in the series.
✨
✨
eARC courtesy of Netgalley, Montlake, and the author

[caffeinated_reads3 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Montlake, and the author for the opportunity to read this in return for an honest review. And let me just say it will be an honest review.

1. From the beginning, I disliked the FMC. Explain to me the reasoning for the annoying repetitiveness of "I'm a mythical creature that hurts everyone I get to close to" conflicting with her other internal monologue of "I must help this person find the killer of someone I got too close with in the past."
2. What is up with the integration of the romance into the plot line? The FMC admits that she's an 100 year old plus virgin by choice, yet this MMC has come in and she suddenly has these wild thoughts of attraction towards him, ADMIST the following inappropriate times: hearing that his brother died, someone is trying to actively kill you, AND in the midst of fighting an assassin (which sounds like the last point but different, you would understand if you read this, which I am completely not recommending this). If you thought Fourth Wing and Iron Flame was poorly edited/written with the mixture of spicy scenes and the the rest of the story, this is WAY worse. And the hinting of her "lust" or physical feelings towards the potential build up of a love triangle? Is that happening? I have no idea. But to describe your FMC feeling the heat rise to her cheeks at the feeling of her skin to clothing as she's being held in his arms is appropriate while being transported to another world? I don't know. I just don't know.
3. And the one major spice scene? HOW DO YOU LEAD UP TO THIS WITH MINIMAL FLIRTING??? HOW DO YOU GET TO THIS POINT AND JUST THROW IN THOSE NICKNAMES OUT OF NO WHERE? And to throw in the practical "we can't do this because we don't have a condom" really threw me for a loop. WHO THINKS ABOUT CONTRACEPTIVES AT A TIME LIKE THAT? Clearly someone who was like, "no this is important to address." Please, someone tell me I'm not crazy. I mean other books address it with taking some kind of herbal/medicinal thing, but like why? In a book like this?
4. Last but not least, this book deserved way better help and editing. It has potential, it has a chance to be better than it is and to grow. However, I think that the final product completely missed the mark by trying to be so much. Please pick a lane and stick with it. You have the main protagonist who is the chosen one, with a star crossed lover that is destined to fail and bring upon death. You have the potential love triangle, the MMC also being the chosen one. destiny, found family, touch upon possible lead up to academia things... There are probably more and they are just beyond my grasp at this moment.

I requested and read this book because I felt the FOMO of others on bookstagram posting about it and, sigh. If I could get my time and energy back from reading this, I probably would. Do I recommend this? Not really. Do I think I want to read the next in the series? Possibly, as I would like to see where it leads. Overall it's a 1 point something rounded to a 2? Yeah. Let's go with a 2.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid three stars for me. Generally, I liked the story and I appreciate the inclusion of a pronunciation guide, a map, and a glossary (though I wish the glossary wasn’t at the end). I also appreciated that the author didn’t dumb down or English-ify the story. It was unrelentingly Korean and while sometimes that made it hard to follow, I appreciate that it didn’t feel dumbed down. I liked the concept a lot, the idea of mixing Korean folklore into a modern setting was really cool. But the execution felt clunky and occasionally jarring. I think, in part, because the writing and the dialogue felt very juvenile. But for the steamy, well written sex scene, I would have thought this was a YA novel. The world building was insufficient but it’s hard to tell if that was intentional, given our FMC had a distorted, detached knowledge of it. I wanted to like the FMC but her acting like a horny teenager during critical points of the story really diminished her likability. There was massive potential for her to be a badass FMC but it just never came to fruition, with the author instead having her act like a middle schooler with their first crush. It was really disappointing. I also didn’t enjoy the focus on the men’s physical appearance. Everyone is hot, we get it, but that really detracted from who the characters were and what they brought to the story. I’ll likely continue with the series, I gave the first ACOTAR book this same rating and ended up loving the series so I’m very optimistic the series will only get better from here.

[Resh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so I really had high hopes for this. The premise was so good and I’m an ardent fan of Korean mythology. However, this book fell short in multiple areas.

The storyline was all over the place. During the latter half of the book I got confused several times as to what’s actually happening and it disengaged me from the story. The descriptions of the past were well done and I enjoyed those parts. But the more I read, the more confused I got with the present story. Yes we get action but it was confusing. And the romance was questionable. The FMC gets attracted to literally all the men around her who looked at her with hooded eyes and that did not sit well with me 😬. This had the potential to be an amazing book but fell short because of too much side plots, haphazardly written lust and lack of editing. Finishing this book was a chore.

Thank you to Brilliance audio for my ALC and Montlake for my e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Manda Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast moving magical techno-mythology - brilliant!

This is such a beautiful, magical, wonderful book. Sunny and Ethan make a really good almost-team and the rest of the group feel as if they’re going to flesh out into serious characters in their own rights. The premise is bold and different and shaping up to be a superb series. I loved this. Well worth several late nights.

[peachyreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Montlake for providing this free advanced reader copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

Official Blurb:
An enemy on her tails, an innocent at her side, and a dangerous power within her that could destroy them all. Jayci Lee melds Korean folklore with modern Americana in this fiery new series.
Sunny Cho aspires to be the dullest, least interesting person in any given room, which can be challenging for a nine-tailed fox spirit. So she drifts from city to city—staying clear of any and all attachment—and keeps her fox buried deep inside her. It is better this way. She would rather live as half of herself than risk losing control of her terrible powers.
Ethan Lee, a friend she left behind eight years ago, is a brilliant and distractingly hot PI. When he tracks her down and asks her to help him find his brother’s murderer, Sunny knows her uneventful life is about to be turned upside down.
Traversing the mortal realm and the world of gods, Sunny and Ethan discover their quest is much more dire than mere vengeance, and their friendship might be…more. An ancient evil is stirring, and Sunny is faced with an impossible choice: save the worlds from annihilation or claim the love fated by the heavens.

Nine Tailed by Jayci Lee blends urban fantasy with Korean folklore. The mythos of the Gumiho (구미호) has always captivated me and this story offers us an interesting twist to this folklore. Sunny, our kind-hearted protagonist, has a special place for Ethan. They are investigating a murder but it turns out being so much more. Their banter and interactions are a delight - and yes, there is a small amount of spice. Why is this marketed as YA? That feels really wrong.

The worldbuilding felt a little off, to be honest. It felt rushed and overwhelming at times. The rapid introduction of the mythologies, while very interesting, felt overstuffed. I was very grateful for the glossary in the back. The writing felt a little chopped at first, but I grew used to it and appreciated it as the story progressed. The middle part, where they go off to another "realm" felt odd - like another story, almost. It wasn't delivered as smoothly.

Overall, this was enjoyable, especially for someone with an interest in Korean folklore like myself. While there is room for improvement, I'm eager to read Lee's next book in this series. I’d rate it a solid 3.5 out of 5.

[ny ⋆⁺₊❆ *｡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ we dove head-first into the action with this one, no delay whatsoever… and i ate it upppppp. 𓃢༄˖°.🍂.ೃ࿔*:･

any plot entailing destinies or prophecies or FATE has me in an ironclad chokehold, and nine tailed by jayci lee has ZERO shortage in that trope department. urgh i need the second book in my hands ASAP before i die from the wait !!! 🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️🦊

so. sunny cho might just be one of my favorite fmcs EVER. i srsly love that gumiho 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 she’s hilarious, sharp-tongued, and stubborn as hell, but not in the way that feels forced or overdone. her determination is simply unmatched, and i was rooting for her so hard because of that (miss grumpy sunny is a juxtaposition i didn’t know i needed. and it works really well)

grumpy gumiho meets unstoppable destiny? yeah i’m obsessedddddd 😻✨ in fact, i’m obsessed with ALL the characters in this book. SRSLY. reading this was soooooo fun—i’m still not over that high 😫😫

korean folklore fantasy romances always hit different. all the mystical creatures and rich fantastical lore add such a thrilling layer to the story. this is probably my third or fourth gumiho-centred novel, and each time i fall even more in love with the mythology that surrounds these tales 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️💗🤍

but other than that—THE GAWDDAMN ROMANCE🤩💫💫 it was serving tension 🤌🏼 hesitation 🤌🏼 the giving in 🤌🏼 then the pulling away 🤌🏼 yessssss give me that slow burnnnnn. no, scratch that. give me ETHAN MOTHERLOVING LEE. he’s precious and i need him. like right now.

until suddenly JIHUN shows up—and tell me why i always eat up a good love triangle (when i like both love interests ofc. and i do. i love sweet and kind ethan and i adore formidable and brooding jihun. so who am i supposed to cheer for?🥲)

the ending of this book set up a world of angst for the next one 🙌🏼 i can’t wait to see the chaos that’s bound to unfold!


𓂃 ࣪˖ 🏔️✧༄ 𓏲˚𓃥 ִֶָ 🎐༘ ⋆ ⭑


ETHAN QOTC (QUOTE OF THE CENTURY) (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ🏆🎖️🏅🏅🥇🥇spoiler-free ver.

“Let’s set one thing straight before I become overwhelmed with this new fucked-up reality. You and I? We’re sticking together. Period. end of discussion. Are we clear?”

mans not taking no for an answer and wants to protect herrrrrrrr 🦊🫂 stubborn sunny has met her match :) my immigrant globe-trotting immortals are about to experience the ride of their lives ⋆˚🐾˖°𓃦

[MusingsofRu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with Nine Tailed. I read it with my eyes and once the audio came out I reread it. The narrators are fantastic ratcheting the suspense in the book up even higher. I loved that the story was completely unique and fully thought out.

This nine tailed fox, Sunny has spent her life being boring hoping to keep her powers hidden. When she can no longer hide, she reluctantly journeys to her homeland to save the world. She meets old and new friends that will expand her world and hopefully together they will have a chance at saving it.

A contemporary romance mixed with Korean folklore made for a wonderful story that I didn't try to guess what happened next. Rather I was along for the magical ride. Don't sleep on this one. It has the makings of an obsessed fandom.

Thank you Jayci, Brilliance and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

[Steph Carr (LiteraryHypeWoman) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep debating 3.5 or 4 stars, so I'm going with the better rating.

This was a fun premise and overall enjoyable. I'll be looking for book 2, for sure. There was just something missing that I can't quite identify.

[Thema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Korean folklore meets modern-day romance. Not a book I'd usually pick to read, but I'm so glad I did. This was such a good story filled with humor, adventure and magic. The only problem is now I have to wait for who knows how long for book 2. I'm dying to find out what happens next 😩!

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one's a DNF for me. I want to love this one, the premise is so cool, I’m just finding that the storytelling isn’t working for me. It feels clunky and I’m not attached to the characters.